AN investigation into the cause of an early morning town centre fire in Darlington is underway.

A fire broke out at the former St T’s Home Shop on Skinnergate in Darlington at around 4am on Thursday morning.

A 47-year-old who was rescued from the blaze by firefighters "in the nick of time" as the building was collapsing around them was arrested yesterday afternoon on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life.

He was taken to Darlington Memorial Hospital with minor injuries where he was later arrested.

He has been released under investigation while he is treated in hospital. He remains in a stable condition.

Skinnergate remains closed to vehicles, but there is full pedestrian access.

All businesses are open as usual.

Witnesses who gathered to see firefighters tackling the blaze reported hearing glass shattering and the roof of the building coming down, as well as thick black smoke blowing across the town.

A Durham Constabulary spokeswoman said: “We appreciate this incident has had a huge impact on businesses and residents in the local area, and we’d like to thank them for their patience and cooperation throughout.”

Darlington Borough Council have arranged temporary accommodation for four people and a dog who were evacuated from nearby properties.

They also confirmed the affected area of Skinnergate will be closed to traffic until at least after the Bank Holiday weekend, and the Darlington Food and Drink Festival will go ahead as planned.

Graeme Metcalf, group manager for emergency response for County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service, said: “We had fire crews operating inside the building with breathing apparatus to rescue one adult male during the incident.

“They brought him out as the building was collapsing around them, so they got the guy out in the nick of time.”